7^th Designs Webinar

Drones Design and Development

Dear colleagues, distinguished speakers, and guests,

Over the past few decades, additive manufacturing has transformed from an innovative concept into a powerful manufacturing technology with the potential to revolutionize industries such as aerospace, biomedical engineering, automotive, energy, and many others. Its ability to fabricate highly complex geometries, reduce material waste, enable customization, and shorten product development cycles has made it one of the most exciting manufacturing technologies of our time.

Yet, despite these remarkable capabilities, the journey from promise to widespread industrial practice remains challenging.

Producing a component with the desired geometry, dimensional accuracy, and intricate design is only part of the story. The true measure of success lies in the reliability and performance of the manufactured part throughout its intended service life. Industries with stringent safety and performance requirements demand not only dimensional precision but also consistent material integrity and predictable mechanical behaviour.

This is where many of the current research challenges lie. Additive manufacturing processes are inherently accompanied by complex thermal histories and process-induced defects. Porosity, internal microcracks, residual stresses, microstructural heterogeneity, phase transformations, and variability in mechanical properties continue to present significant obstacles to qualification and certification, particularly for safety critical applications.

Across all seven categories of additive manufacturing processes, researchers and engineers are working to better understand the relationships between process parameters, material behaviour, defect formation, and final component performance. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration across materials science, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, computational modelling, process monitoring, nondestructive evaluation, and quality assurance.

This webinar is an opportunity to explore these critical issues. It is a platform to exchange ideas, share the latest research findings, discuss innovative solutions, and bridge the gap between laboratory achievements and industrial implementation. By bringing together experts from different disciplines and application sectors, we can move one step closer to realizing the full potential of additive manufacturing.

I encourage all scholars in this field to join this webinar and actively participate in the discussions, ask questions, and take advantage of the collective expertise to be shared. Meaningful dialogue and collaboration are essential if we are to transform additive manufacturing from a technology of great promise into one of dependable industrial practice.

Date: 17 September 2026

Time: 10:00 am CEST | 04:00 pm CST Asia

Webinar ID: 852 9778 4046

Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com